b'ready circulated and ac- the BBC and government as their use of cepted.fear-mongering is impacting peoples Professor Neil Fergu- stress levels and health. Dodsworth son of the Imperial Col- highlights how this has been a time legeLondonpredictedof great judgement and its costly ef-therewouldbeoverfects on people, their mental health, 500,000 deaths in the UKand society.and 2.2 million deaths inIn one of my favorite parts of the the U.S., if nothing werebook, the author includes an excerpt donetosuppressthefrom an essay by the behavioral sci-virus, a very doom-ladenentist Patrick Fagan. He states that modelthatassumednothere are three solid tactics that one existingimmunitytocan use to fight back against nudges: COVID-19.Thestoriesuncover,unplug,anduplift.Itsa seemedcopiedfromanwonderfulroadmaptonavigating Orwellnovelbutwere,todaysdifficultenvironment.A in fact, happening in realState of Fear is an enlightening book life! How can we ever beabout fear response that gives a stun-sure that we are gettingningperspectiveontheCOVID-19 accurateinformationifpandemic and concludes with salient we are not being informedadvice.properly? It really erodes trust in our institutional werewidelydisseminated.Sheex- leaders and media. As aSTOP!result of this use of fear and manipu-plains how social media bots and trolllation, I now find myself skeptical and accounts, paid celebrities, and politi- doubt even the most robust science orIf you are an NHFcians spread propaganda and terrifyingpublic-health messaging. member, have you voted messages, all contrived and designed toOneofthestatementsthatstuckyet? See election materials outwit our logic and tap into our morewith me from the book was that Peo- and return envelope forinstinctual side of self-preservation. ple should be given factual informationyour ballot in To some extent I would have ex- to guide choices rather than be ma-pectedthiswithtodaysmediaandnipulated at a subconscious level intothe insert.government officials, but Dodsworthmaking choices the government thinks also brings the medical community intoare best for us.the fray. Public consumption of med- Throughout the book there are de-ical data directly from its source wastailed accounts of those affected by the not immune from this manipulation.pandemic lockdowns and restrictions. In Britain, masking guidelines and pol- TheauthorreallybringsforththeirCrossword Puzzle Answersicy were derived and delivered to theheartbreakingrealitywhileexplain-masses to influence when, where, anding the techniques used to weaponize how the public wore masks using sta- fear.Therearesomanyindividuals tistics produced by the British Medicalthat have struggled with guilt and fear. Association (BMA). The BMA claimedOne story that left a deep imprint on that their medical and academic staffme was one of a mother who found her hadproducedtheinformationfromson under medical care after he had collected data, but further investiga- attemptedsuicide.Thenurseswho tion revealed the statistics were takencametohelphimweremaskedand from Chinese infectious disease spe- seemed angry about the situation and cialists. The BMA later withdrew itsleft her son riddled with guilt. She de-claims,buttheinformationwasal- scribed a bubbling rage she felt about H ealtHF reedomN ews /F all2022 31NHF_40-3_Linda_11-25-2022.indd 31 11/25/22 8:02 AM'